This may be my favorite selfie ever. The joy of spit-filled cheeks – better than Botox! Not bad for bedhead, right?
I’m trying oil pulling. Oh, hello Internet bandwagon! Mind if I jump on? Yes, yes, clearly you’re very crowded what with EVERYONE talking about it this weekend but you know me, I’m always game for a good round of Spin-the-Wheel-of-Health-Fortune!
Oil pulling, for those of you not yet initiated to this weird right of health-blogger passage, is pretty simple: You put a teaspoon or two of oil (sesame, olive and coconut are all popular) in your mouth and swish it around. After 20 minutes or so, you spit it out and the oil takes all the toxins out of your body with it. Congrats, you have ostensibly cured yourself of every possible ailment known to mankind including but not limited to: plaque, gum disease, bad breath, cavities, AIDS, cancer, depression, liver failure, warts, acne, cracked heels and hepatitis.
(I swear I did not make that list up but if I sound a little tongue in cheek it’s because my tongue has been all over my cheeks all friggin’ weekend and, as you may have guessed, 20 minutes is kind of a long time to be a-swishing. Also, I’m grouchy because I have an insane headache. More on that in a minute.)
Confession: I actually tried oil pulling a few years ago, gagged on the oil, retched, made faces like a cartoon character and only managed it for maybe a minute max before heaving it into the sink. (Which, by the way, you’re never supposed to do. The sink part. Because it clogs the pipes. Not the heaving part. Oil pulling makes lots of people heave. At least at first.) Despite whatever got in the Internet water this past week, oil pulling has been around a very long time. It started as an ancient Aryuvedic practice but was introduced to the mainstream in Western cultures around 1996.
But for me, while I’d been hearing about it ever since I got into health stuff, I didn’t really take it seriously until Carla Birnberg (Mizfit, at the time) wrote about it on her site. She’s a sane, reasonable person and she loves it so I figured I ought to at least give it a whirl (ha!). And then tried it once, hated it, and promptly forgot about it. So what changed my mind? For starters, this past week Gym Buddies Allison and Jeni decided to try it and I got a zillion e-mails from you guys (I think mainly because of this Jezebel article). But the real reason is all vanity.
A week ago I had my bi-annual dental checkup and was upset to find out that not only do I have one-and-a-half cavities but since my teeth are super sensitive I’m not a candidate for any tooth whitening stuff. Considering my teeth are roughly the same size and color as corn niblets this disappointed me very much. BUT! While I find it immensely difficult to believe oil pulling cures cancer, it does seem plausible that it could have a positive effect on surface tooth and gum stuff and according to lots of people, it whitened and de-sensitized their teeth! Perfect – just what the doctor (didn’t) order!
My first mistake was starting my oil pulling after lunch. I’d read that you oil-pull first and then brush your teeth so that’s what I did. Let me tell you, you do not realize how much crap is stuck in your teeth until you start swishing coconut oil around in there. It was like change in a washing machine. A greasy carrot-filled washing machine. Twenty minutes seemed completely nuts but I was determined to go the whole time this time. (Mostly because Allison did it and even though we now live four states apart I still have to do everything she does!) In retrospect, I think I could have spit out the chunkified oil and put some new stuff in and kept going but at the time that didn’t occur to me so it just got grosser and grosser.
Jelly Bean was super confused as to why I couldn’t talk to her all of a sudden. “Just SHOW ME what’s in you mouf!!!” Oh honey, I love you way too much to do that!
I finally expectorated that mess, gleefully, after the timer went off. My teeth definitely felt really clean! But an hour or two later, this massive headache set in. This was weird for me because I never get headaches. Not even when I’m sick. I’m just not a headache-y person I guess? And it was like someone had driven nails into my forehead. I texted Jeni and she told me that she’d gotten the Hannibal headache too, which was why she quit pulling after one time. I slept on it, felt dandy as a peach the next morning, so this time I decided to try oil pulling again, the “right” way. I did it before breakfast, on an empty stomach, and then rinsed my mouth out with water after. No spit confetti this time so that was nice. But again, after a couple of hours the headache set in. And lasted alllll day. Which really sucked since it was my son’s birthday party and the last place you want to be incapacitated is at a movie theater with a gaggle of kidlets. My head hurt so much I slept through 75% of the LEGO movie (but hey, everything is awesome! Everything is cool … when you can’t stop singing this song!)
I’ve done four rounds of pulling and have got the $*(%& headache every single time.
So I googled it. According to some people, the headache is normal if your body is expelling a lot of toxins. (Um excuse me Internet? I’d like to introduce you to my liver. Yeah, she’ll be taking over the detoxifying from here, Kthx.) Another theory was all the jaw movement can bring on a headache but it didn’t feel like that kind of soreness/pain to me. Lastly, some people said that raw, virgin coconut oil like I used is the big gun in oil pulling and that the effect is so powerful that newbies can’t handle it. I would have rolled my eyes but my head hurts too much. But what do I know, really? Pretty much everyone said your body will get used to whatever’s happening within a few days and you’ll be pain free in no time. Here’s hoping.
That’s me, making mouth mayonnaise, first thing this morning!
When I posted about this on Facebook, I got a bunch of questions.
1. Where’s the research? (This, from my mother the pragmatic nurse. I love her so hard.)
I honestly didn’t expect to find any serious studies looking at oil pulling but it turns out some research has actually been done! Here’s a summary:
– Oil pulling was found to cause a “statistically significant” reduction in halitosis (bad breath) and the microorganisms that cause it. The researchers said it was equally effective as chlorhexidine, an antiseptic antibacterial.
– A randomized, controlled, triple-blind study found that oil pulling reduced plaque on teeth and gingivitis as much as an antibiotic. It also significantly reduced strep bacteria counts in the mouth.
– This study found that oil pulling reduced the ability of the bacteria to adhere to the tooth and thereby reduced cavities (caries). “There is a remarkable reduction in the susceptibility of a host to dental caries. 50% of the case study persons were converted from marked dental caries susceptibility to slight dental caries susceptibility [the other 50% were downgraded to moderate risk.] This alone makes me want to do it since I swear I have Swiss cheese teeth. Even though I brush and floss twice a day religiously and eat a mainly healthy diet (very little refined sugar/grains), I still end up with cavities every single time I see the dentist. Every time. It sucks.
2. Are you giving up toothbrushing/flossing?
Nooooo! And from what I’ve read oil pulling is not really meant to be used in place of good oral hygiene but rather in addition to it. If you poke around on health blogs you’ll find some people using it instead of tooth brushing but the majority of folks still brush their teeth with regular toothpaste or a homemade flouride-free paste.
3. Wouldn’t this work if you swished anything, even water?
The most common response from medical professionals seems to say that the oil isn’t anything special and rather it’s the act of swishing a liquid around that is doing the good. I don’t think this is true, actually. Coconut oil has been proven to have some natural antibiotic properties and since a lot of the benefits people attribute to the pulling is a consequence of less bacteria in the mouth I’m guessing using oil (coconut and sesame are the two most studied) does make some difference. In addition, it is purported to have antiviral and antifungal properties as well – handy if you’re prone to thrush?
4. Don’t your cheeks hurt?
No actually. And now that I’ve done it four times, the 20 minutes isn’t so daunting. First, I’m careful to NOT do it after a meal. Ugh. Second, I do it right when I wake up and then get my kids up, get them breakfast and get dressed. By that point the 20 minutes has flown by. The hardest part is not being able to yell at, er instruct, my kids. They’ve gotten used to my sign language though.
5. Are you going to keep doing it?
I’m committed to at least a week. But if I’m still getting the headaches after that, I’m quitting. And unfortunately today two of my back teeth started aching as well. I don’t know if this is a result of the oil pulling or just an unfortunate coincidence? So far, my teeth aren’t any whiter or less sensitive but four days hardly seems long enough to make any conclusions. I’m aiming for a month. Either way though, as far as health trends go, this one is relatively easy and cheap to try!
What’s your experience – I know some of you have tried this! Got any advice for me on the headaches? Any other questions?
Jelly Bean actually said, “Take a picture of me waving and tell all your computer people hi!” I don’t know if I’m proud or worried that she’s already so cognizant of having an audience?
1.) *waves back at Jellybean* Please tell Jellybean “hi” back from a computer person.
2.) Be proud of Jellybean’s cognizance.
3.) I am TOTALLY happy that I have your two mouth filled with spit pictures in my inbox Charlotte! That combined with the bedhead and you STILL rock the look.
4.) Your children MAY be plotting activities for your next twenty minutes of forced silence. “Sorry Mom! I didn’t understand that you were OBJECTING to the water fight in the living room! We thought you WANTED us to get the hose!”
5.) Twenty minutes out of my life everyday…that I cannot get back? I believe will stick to my pre-rinse, flossing, teeth brushing and mouthwash.
6.) Pre-rinse, flossing, teeth brushing and mouthwash DON’T give me a headache.
7.) A man named Henri Pougard developed a Halitotic attack. He developed this by breathing on stray animals, and then soon became capable of breathing such vile odors on a human that the human would pass out. Faint.
So too much cleansing could be counter-productive to a person’s self-defense.
This is a little tidbit of info I discovered decades ago, and this is the first time I have had opportunity to segue it into a discussion!
Thank-you Charlotte!
Hi Jellybean!
So… Does this do anything that swishing with mouthwash doesn’t? I just mean if its the swishing motion plus antibacterial properties (and I’d think mouthwash is less gag inducing…)
Good question!! According to a Jan 2014 study, antiseptic mouthwash actually raises your risk of heart attack because it kills off all the bacteria, including the good bacteria. What minimal research there is suggests that coconut oil does not have that same “carpetbombing” effect. Not sure about the exact mechanism there but considering that mouthwashes often come with artificial flavors, colors etc I’d be more comfortable with the coconut oil anyhow. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584912018229
Interesting-I hadn’t heard that about heart attacks! And depressing, since I’m not sure I could stomach oil in my mouth for 20 minutes!
I couldn’t stomach 20 minutes when I first started so I built up to 20. 1st time I did 5mins, then 7 mins, 10 mins etc till I was able to go the full 20mins. I hadn’t heard about the heart attack/mouthwash thing either, but my teeth always took on a blue or green tint with mouthwash. Even with 2x’s daily brushing/swishing/flossing I needed clorhexidine (spelling?) to deal with enflamed and bleeding gums. Since starting pulling I don’t have the bleeding, swollen gums.
I don’t know about the science of it all, but since it doesn’t induce a Hannibal headache in me, and my ultra sensitive teeth are now ONLY sensitive during shark week (where’s the science on THAT I ask you, oh Queen of the OBGYN stuff????) I’m sticking with it. There isn’t, however, enough money on God’s Little Green Earth to do it with sesame oil. That stuff is POTENT!
Coconut Oil, a little dab’l do ya, don’t swish violently, tip you head forward for the ocassional “I’m DROWNING” swallow, and spit it in the yard. “They” say to rinse with salt water after, but although I live less than a mile from the Florida coast, I don’t happen to have running salt water out in the barn (which is where I do my morning rituals – including feeding the animals and a round of T-Tapp – since my animals don’t actually care whether I speak to them or not…) (but my dog DOES do the Victrola Dog head tilt thing when I’m Tapping…) I just swish it out with a swig from the hose. (mmmmmm, well water from the horse trough! YUM… J/K) Word to the wise, do NOT try to combine working out and oil pulling. I’m a multi-tasker at heart, but those two tasks do NOT go together. Swallowing “mouth mayo” is BAD BAD BAD. (And … well, that’s probably enough said on THAT subject…)
Good luck with the headaches! I was guessing detox headache too – hope it stops!
Okay you just gave me a full-body shudder with the whole swallowing bit! Ugh! And SO interesting about your teeth being more sensitive during your period. I’m wracking my brain trying to think of why that would be… Hormones are terrorists I’m telling you.
My fake science answer is swelling of all sorts of mucus membranes which causes the gums to temporarily recede resulting in sensitivity? But I’m also the one whose fake science blames dinosaurs on God et al getting punchie and just putting ramdom stuff on the earth and snickering about us trying to figure it out. (ducks random lightning bolts…)
That sounds reasonable! And hey, anyone who invents the sea cucumber (aka poop floating in the ocean) has GOT to have a sense of humor, right??
I’ve tried it a couple of times because I have super sensitive teeth (eating fruit can be a challenge) and I’d love to find a cure. I’m not bothered by the mouth full of oil – I find coconut oil quite pleasant – but I have a hard time getting past the fact that I am swishing around a mouthful of spit for 20 minutes. I find that really disgusting.
Yes, my teeth feel cleaner after, but I get the same effect with my waterpik. So I’m not sold yet. If you come back and say your tooth sensitivity has markedly improved, maybe I’ll convince myself to give it another go.
I’ll keep you posted for sure! So far, no less sensitivity but it’s not even been a week…
I have been oil pulling for three months. I too had sensitive teeth—but now I can put cold water in my water pic and absolutely no pain! Give it a try and allow at least six weeks to notice improvement in sensitivity.
I JUST started this on Saturday, so I’m on day three. I’m not convinced, yet, but I’m going to try for a week as well and see. I have some coffee staining on my teeth and I’d love to see that go, one particular stain seems to be fading, but maybe it’s my imagination. The 20 minutes doesn’t bug me, I pop in the oil before I get in the shower, and by the time I’m showered and hair dried and I’m dressed, the time has flown. Oh, and no headaches, thank goodness. I didn’t know that was a potential “side effect”.
I’ll be interested to see what you think after a week.
Keep me posted on how your experiment goes!
I have no advice about oil pulling, but I wanted to say that I’ve just started growing my hair out, and your hair in these pics is pretty much what I dream of at night.
Ah thank you!! It’s pretty “volumized” from sleeping on it – it sadly goes flatter as the day goes on :/ Good luck growing yours out!
As a control try swishing some other liquid for 20 minutes. I think it has to be the way you’re clenching your jaw.
I think you may be right – several other people also suggested I be less aggressive with the swishing haha! I tried to be more relaxed this morning and so far no headache!
Hooray! At last, a time consuming health craze taken up by people I respect that I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN whatsover. Thanks for the explanation, and for saving me a bunch of time googling. Because you’re right, suddenly everyone is all over this thing.
I will do my 2 dutiful minutes with my sonic toothbrush, floss, and spend not a fraction of a second worrying about whether I should be swirling and spitting oil. Bleeah.
Hahahah this makes me love you SO MUCH.
I’ve been oil pulling for a couple weeks now. I do think my teeth are whiter, but mostly I love it because I feel like my sinuses are clearer and my seasonal allergies haven’t been as bad.
I have however been getting a lot of headaches, and I never connected the headaches with the oil pulling until this post. Interesting. The headaches are horrible, and I can’t decide if the clear sinuses are worth the headache. Tough choice.
So interesting! Let me know what you end up deciding! Are you still getting the headaches every day?
Oh my word, your Jelly Bean is so cute! Hi, back!
Thank you Stephanie!
I tried oil pulling for about 3 days–also for the potential teeth benefits, cuz my teeth need all the help they can get. I stopped because my mouth would get tired and the oil was just gross. Sigh.
Pro tip: when you jump on the internet bandwagon, try not to tell your friends and coworkers, to avoid some strange looks.
PS: Are you and Jelly Bean secretly Disney princesses? What’s the secret to your princess hair?!
I love your pro tip. Love it. And thanks for the compliments on our hair – you are too sweet!
“My teeth definitely felt really clean! ”
No. What they felt was slippery, which you associate with having just been to the dentist for a buff and polish.
” . . .cause a “statistically significant” reduction in halitosis (bad breath) and the microorganisms that cause it.”
So does a shot of Brandy.
” . . . oil pulling reduced the ability of the bacteria to adhere to the tooth . . .”
So does eating some 80/20 ground beef fried in butter.
“What’s your experience?”
My mother always told me that if I can’t say something nice . . . oh. Damn. Blew it by implication.
a – you say that as if it’s a bad thing?
b – clearly you never met my grandfather
c – I love me some grass-fed ground beef although I feel no need to adulterate the flavor with butter. Maybe I should swish some beef with my coconut oil? Embrace the chunky.
d – I hate to be genuine in the face of obvious sarcasm but I do so like people who make me think, whether or not I end up agreeing with them. I’m sure your mom is with me on this one.
b – I said a shot.
d- I think that’s the only reason she keeps me around.
Hi! I just tried this this morning after reading this post. After about 8 minutes my oil became super watery and started to be too much liquid for me to hold in my mouth. Did that happen to you?
Yes!! It was almost painful. I ended up using less coconut oil the next time and swishing less, uh, vigorously. LOL.
I have to say I love you for trying this, BUT as your annoying PhD-in-Biology-Reader, I also have to point out that the science you quote (and I’m just trusting you on this because I have no reason not to) has nothing to do with any of the purported health benefits that the internet health-criers are hawking. I mean that in the best way. (No I don’t, I’m being stodgy and cynical.)
Oil swishing (let’s call it what it is) can have implications on your mouth bacteria in much the same way that swishing with ANYTHING can. It can obviously affect halitosis much like ANYTHING can. And you point out that coconut oil is special, and that the effects are not likely to be related to the “anything” argument, but the first article you cited was oil pulling with sesame oil.
Sorry I am truly not trying to be annoying, but I just don’t buy it. Plus I think I’d barf. 😀
No apologies necessary! I like it when people make me think:) Bandwagons are infamous for being… bandwagonny. And ’tis true – the studies looked at sesame oil. I made that logic leap when I mentioned coconut oil. There aren’t any studies on coconut oil – I looked! Nevertheless I think it stands to reason that if you’re going to pull something that the coconut oil might be more helpful than plain water. That said, I’m not willing yet to make ANY conclusions on the overall efficacy of oil pulling. Nor do I believe it effects anything beyond the surface in my mouth. And yeah… it’s pretty gag-worthy!
I was just reading about this a couple of days ago and was thinking of trying it ! It’s amazing how often I’ll be looking at something (hello no-poo) and come to your blog and you’re doing it.
I’m worried about my super-sensitive gag-reflex so I may have to work up to 20 minutes. I’m a veteran of headaches so I’m not too worried about that.
BTW – how’s your no-poo going ? I made home-made shampoo with coconut milk that I love – my hair has stopped falling out and I no longer look like a frizzy badger. I’m also down to washing it 2 or 3 times/week.
I am definitely good at following other people’s trends haha! Let me know how it goes if you try it! As for the no-poo it’s been good! I’m still just rinsing with water although I did try just using silicone-free conditioner as shampoo (a la the Curly Girl method) and that made my hair ridiculously gross. Your shampoo sounds yummyo!
I had never heard of this before now. (I guess I don’t internet enough) I love weird health ideas, solutions, whatchyamucallits… Now I’m really interested to hear what happens after a week (or two if the headaches subside enough.) Good luck!
Haven’t read the post yet, but HOLY CRAP, THAT IS THE CUTEST, FUNNIEST, AND MOST HAPPY INDUCING PHOTO OF YOU SO FAR THIS YEAR! I LOVE IT!
Coincidentally, I did it this morning for the first time (after picking up some unrefined coconut oil this weekend), and was wondering about the science! So thanks for the links. I’m really hoping I don’t get a headache! I get migraines regularly and really don’t need another trigger, plus I’d like to keep doing the oil pulling for a while.
I started out with ten minutes because that’s what I had time for and I wanted to work my way up. It really wasn’t bad once the oil melted!
I melt my oil before I put it in my mouth I can’t stomach the consistency otherwise. I saw a pinterest pin that used silicone candy molds to make the oil pulling easier. She would melt the oil, measure and pour into the mold then freeze. I haven’t tried it yet, but it might work for you
I melt my oil before I put it in my mouth I can’t stomach the consistency otherwise. I saw a pinterest pin that used silicone candy molds to make the oil pulling easier. She would melt the oil, measure and pour into the mold then freeze. I haven’t tried it yet, but it might work for you.
Just read Carla’s article too about same topic, no I haven’t tried it but I do have some coconut oil in the cupboard, so maybe one of these days… Thanks for always going the extra mile in providing the information/research for us so we don’t have to. And tell your adorable Jelly Bean “Hi” from another computer person, she’s a doll!
I couldn’t do the oil thing…I’d gag. I know it!
I’ve had to do lots of long daily swishing with an alcohol free pH balanced mouthwash during my treatments (Biotene…amazing stuff) to keep my mouth healthy and I’m finding my mouth is much better for it. I will continue with the Biotene after. I’ve always had awful gums and teeth and as another science nut I jut can’t see any clinical evidence that oil pulling should work any more than this would…
I started this last week because my sister told me it has really helped her teeth sensitivity and sinuses. I don’t have sensitive teeth, and I’m super skeptical about oil pulling, but I have noticed that my sinuses have been so clear and I’ve slept so much better. No waking up in the morning unable to breath through my nose. I’m hoping it’s the oil pulling. I use sesame oil and I don’t find it bad at all.
I started oil pulling over a week and a half ago, with coconut oil, and went through the worst detox ever, with incredibly sore throat that kept me awake at night, and started immediately after the first session and stayed for a week!! I felt like I was getting flu or something, and I have had snot and phlegm like you wouldn’t believe, BUT, now feel great. My gums have stopped bleeding which has been an on going problem as I used to smoke up to a few years ago. I have a lot more energy, infact I have just taken up running which I just cannot believe I am actually doing ( I am 48!!). I cannot say I have a gleaming white smile yet, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I do think they look a little brighter. All in all, I will continue, as so far it is doing no harm, and the effects do seem to be positive. I shall carry on oil pulling as I am intrigued as to the long term benefits. I cannot wait to see if the dentist notices a difference when I get my 3 monthly check up. Here’s hoping!
As a Dental Hygienist, I have a couple of suggestions for those of you who suffer from sensitive teeth and/or cavity prone.There are some little known products out there I can introduce you to. One is Basic Bites- a “tootsie roll” type chew that you use after brushing and flossing twice a day to help with sesitivity. It contains arginine and is Ph balanced to reduce acids over quite a few hours after use. Xylitol gums and mints, when used several times a day (6-10 grams), can reduce cavities. Bacteria learn to prefer xylitol over sugar and, like a drug addict, will wait for a hit of xylitol instead of consuming available sugars. The net effect being they die without nutrition. So, it can alter the flora of your mouth and therefore you could be less cavity prone. This takes time tho. Anyone ever heard of a $100 tube of toothpaste? Theodent 300 contains an extract from cocoa that is shown to be significantly more powerful than fluoride for remineralizing and desensitizing and with significantly less dosage and obviously is not toxic like fluoride. Theodent also has a standard toothpaste for just $10 a tube. They also have a kids version. EvoraPlus oral probiotics can, over time, alter the flora of your mouth to harbor healthy bacteria. One of the strains of bacteria actually produces hydrogen peroxide as a by-product and therefore you could notice some whitening effect. Those who are oil pulling might want to try using an ozonated oil. I don’t have any real science to show you, but since ozonated oils are extremely potent at killing viruses, bacteria and fungus, I imagine it would take oil pulling to a new level. Ozone oil seems to melt the plaque right off the teeth, according to a book I’m reading called Mouth Matters.
Janelle- Thank you so much for the great tips, I’m copying and pasting your comment!!
Thank you SO much for sharing your insight Janelle – I thought this was such great advice I put your comment in it’s own post https://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2014/03/quickie-update-on-my-oil-pulling-experiment.html
I do think part of the benefit to using an oil vs mouthwash is that the healthy fats in coconut oil actually help to remineralize teeth and may leave a coating on them that lasts and helps protect against acid attack. And, coconut oil does have antifungal properties that mouthwashes don’t.
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I had terribly sensitive teeth from early teens until my first pregnancy with my daughter, the one where I gagged on tooth paste and had to switch to baking soda. I was scared that I’d die without my sensitive teeth tooth paste that I had used for over ten years, even though it barely worked. So why did I continue to use it, because the experts said that it helps. if I quit HOW sensitive would my teeth be?? Anyway after awhile dodging toothpaste altogether I found that my teeth were fine. After the baby was born I began using toothpaste again for it’s minty goodness, just regular because I was no longer sensitive. Within days of using the toothpaste I noticed my teeth were sensitive again. So I gave up all commercial (especially mint flavored) toothpaste permanently. I have found some alternatives….I recommend getting rid of toothpaste to see if it could be causing your trouble. I use clove oil for flavor and it works ok with OJ and is an antibacterial.
I also oil pull (with organic olive oil) at the recommendation of my dentist, of all people! It was nasty for like two weeks, but got better. If you are oil pulling you should brush after or rinse with salt water….you can carry a mason jar with salt water anywhere. I believe it has made my teeth whiter. I would never switch to regular mouth wash, too many unknown ingredients.
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I looked this up because I got the “mega headache” as well. I do actually have migraines, but I had not experienced one in a while until I started oil pulling. As far as toxins, it makes sense. I started trying to empty my system of toxins by changing my diet, but I still drink Diet Poison (I mean Diet Coke…Aspartame is the devil, but I love Diet Coke). After a week, I can say that my skin has started clearing up, my sinuses are clear, my teeth are indeed whiter & a bit of tartar I had has come off. My teeth are also less sensitive. However, every single day after I oil pull, I start experiencing the beginnings of a migraine (beginning with the aura and progressing with pain). I am hoping this will subside because of all the other great benefits I am seeing.
I did get a really bad headache and chapped lips everytime I used extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil for oil pulling but when I was using sesame, or avocado oil, I did not get any headache. I experimented several times.
You should try with different oil.
Does anyone have an update on whether their headaches went away? I’ve had migraine and tmjd for 10 years. Tried oil pulling last year with coconut oil but had the worst series of migraines and headaches until I stopped. Trying sesame oil this time to see if a ‘gentler oil’ has better results. Day 1 no problems, day 2 and I have a migraine. I really want this to work or at least understand why it increases the pain when so many people report extensive benefits. How have you got on?
An update from me – on doing some research it could be those of us who are reacting to oil pulling with headaches/skin reactions have an intolerance to salicylates. Both sesame and coconut oil are high in salicylate. I’m going to try safflower oil instead to test this theory – as it doesn’t contain salicylate. I hope this helps anyone else who is baffled by such an intense reaction to something that seems as if it should be harmless!
Decided to try oil pulling after reading about this ‘new’ fad. I have fairly healthy teeth, maybe a little plaque but I do have receding gums which sometimes cause my teeth to become sensitive. I have always used regular toothpaste followed by mouthwash. Went to my local supermarket to buy some coconut oil but couldn’t find it on the obvious shelves so asked a counter employee for assistance. She showed me where to find it ‘baking ingredients aisle’ whodathought? But amazingly after her telling me how tasty it is in stir fries I mentioned that I was going to use it for oil pulling but before I could finish my sentence she knew exactly what I was going to say! She knew everything about oil pulling after living in Thailand where she grew up! I honestly couldn’t have picked a person, not only in the shop but the whole of the UK who could have more experience and knowledge of oil pulling. This small middle aged english lady store assistant was a font of facts. She hadn’t actually brushed her teeth with toothpaste in 50 odd years yet had an amazing set off gnashers! She told me about the pros and cons ie. headaches, what oils to use etc. Her advice was to use a light oil, preferably grape seed or similar as it was more liquidity and smoother than coconut oil so easier to pull with and it was also more palatable than other oils (with the excepetion of coconut as I love coconuts!). So after stripping her of an hour of her working time in which a small crowd had also gathered (originally to ask for general help) but ended up to listen to her advice. I have opted to use grape seed oil and I have also ordered a tube of natural fluoride-free toothpaste from the Internet as most stores don’t supply it, to clean with afterwards just to see how I get on.
I tried it for about 10 days before realizing it was actually the cause of my sudden headaches (which I had been blaming on end-of-school-year stress). I did a bit of researching and found many articles like yours, and I’m curious to know if your headache went away after a while. I personally couldn’t deal with it any longer, knowing that I could make it stop right away. Hope it got better for you!
Hi Chalotte
Thank you very much for writing this post, and also thank you to all the people whom comented.
I googled “Iis the a connecction between oil pulling and migrains”, and this led me to your post.
My personal story is, that a few days ago i was searching via youtube, what purposes coconut oil could be used for (i already knew it was good for the hair and the skin and was basicly looking for some more “recepies”),and to my astonishment, run into oil pulling.
It sounded interesting, made sense, and got a lot of credit from people whom were doing it, so i decided to try it, especsialy since i already had the coconut oil anyway.
It was a bit of a burden while doing it, but afterward my teeth did feel very clean and smooth, and looked whiter. the problem was that after a while i felt a bit naushes, but i guess that was because i just spit it out, but swalowed a little bit of the resued before i rinsed my mouth. Unfourtently, a few hours later i also started to get a migraine, and had to take some antipain pills, in order to survive the day. The next day i did the oil pulling again, but this time i made it a point to rinse my mouth imediatly after spiting the oil out, plus not letting my self swallow any of the resude. Thanks to that i didnt get naushes, but again it gave me somekind of migraine, thow it wasnt a bad one. So i’m not sure if id done it twice or thrice, and then today because i was hurrying in the morning plus had a long day out of home i havnt done it, but ive been walkig around with a light migraine this whole day, and i”m pretty sure it is related to the oil pulling.
I dont want to let go of the oil pulling, because im sure itb dose cleanse the mouth and as a cosequense from that the rest of the body, but i”m trying to understand why it triggers the migrains, and what one might do in order to to prevent this side effect.
I got cramps day 1 and now they are even worse. .any ideas?
I am not dehydrated
Thank you for writing this. I have just started oil pulling. I have experienced the worst headache today… The ache in my mouth was as bad as when l had first had my railway track brace fitted when l was a teenage. It felt like someone had put pressure with their knuckles into my temples. I had to sleep! Is this really a detox?? How full of toxins am l? How long does it last for? Is their anyway to reduce these side effects? Have you kept going with the OP and have the headaches gone now? Thanks.
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This is helpful! I’ve been oil pulling for a few years, mostly with good quality coconut oil. I didn’t know until now that I was supposed to do it first thing in the morning. I always have gotten headaches and mild migraines once in a while, but I just started getting tons of headaches and migraines – so much that I am wondering if I have “daily persistent headaches” – I know I clench, so maybe the headaches are TMJ. I also had extra stress recently, so I’m having trouble identifying the cause.
I just oil pulled and started to get another headache, so it occurred to me to look that up, and I found this blog. Based on the last few posts, I think I’ll try a different oil! I wonder if anyone persisted with the coconut oil and had the headaches go away? I love coconut and coconut oil, but another thing occurs to me – I don’t necessarily believe in the “blood type diet,” but I know my blood type (B+) says no coconut or sesame. Anyway, I ordered cal/mag, zinc, vitamin D, and B2 (riboflavin) because I read that people with migraines are often deficient in those, and I know I was 100% deficient in zinc last year. I also read that people with migraines tend to have an excess of heavy metals (iron, cadmium, lead, manganese). So I wonder if the OP detoxing and headaches are all related to that, as well. Just some thoughts. Probably another blood test would tell me something, too. I wonder if anyone else has more to say about this, or maybe it will help somebody else with ideas.